Our journey to the FA Youth Cup final

Aston Villa go in search of a fifth FA Youth Cup crown at Villa Park on Monday, when taking on Manchester City in the final of the prestigious competition. 

Jimmy Shan's under-18s have enjoyed an impressive season thus far, sitting just one win away from silverware in the youth cup and at the top of the Under-18 Premier League table with two games left. 

And the Young Lions take on Man City in B6 on Bank Holiday Monday next week (ko 3pm), with tickets still available for just £1. 

Having entered the competition at the third round stage, Shan's side have recorded five wins in this season's competition. Here is a look back at our route to the final...

Aston Villa 6-0 Accrington Stanley - Round Three - Friday, December 6

The Young Lions began their campaign with a bang, opening up in the third round with an emphatic 6-0 victory over Accrington Stanley at Bodymoor Heath. 

Dominant throughout, Villa took a three-goal lead into the half-time break, thanks to strikes from Ben Broggio, Mason Cotcher and Rodrigo Fortes, as Accrington were reduced to 10 players.

The impressive George Hemmings added another two goals after the break, either side of a second red card for the visitors, before substitute Luka Lynch added a sixth to round off a successful evening. 

Newcastle United 0-4 Aston Villa - Round Four - Thursday, January 16

The next round saw Villa continue their hot scoring streak from the Accrington game when travelling to the north east to take on Newcastle United. 

The Young Lions made the perfect start when Cole Brannigan gave them the lead inside the opening four minutes, before a sublime free-kick from Jack McGrath doubled the advantage half an hour later, and Mason Cotcher added a third to effectively seal the tie in the first half. 

Brannigan added his second and his side's fourth of the game after the break to ensure Villa had scored 10 goals and conceded none in their opening two outings of the FA Youth Cup campaign. 

Aston Villa 3-2 Bristol City - Round Five - Tuesday, February 4

But things were not quite as straightforward in round five, where Shan's charges had to show their grit and fighting spirit to come from behind against Bristol City for a place in the quarter-finals. 

Villa were stunned by goals from Ruebin Sheppard and Tomos Gibbs which put them 2-0 down either side of half-time, but Cotcher was the Villans' hero, netting a second half hat-trick to dramatically send his side through. 

The forward halved the deficit just before the hour mark and went on to level the tie with time running out, in the 85th minute. A smart finish in the fifth minute of added time completed a sublime treble and a memorable turnaround on an incredible evening at Bodymoor Heath.  

Aston Villa 3-0 Plymouth Argyle - Quarter-Finals - Friday, March 14

The quarter-finals brought about the opportunity for Shan's side to walk out on the hallowed turf of Villa Park, as they hosted Plymouth Argyle under the lights in B6. 

It took Villa a while to break down the Pilgrims' stubborn rearguard, but they took a 1-0 advantage into the break when Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba stroked home from close range as half-time approached. 

A clinical finish from Bradley Burrowes provided the home side’s second of the night before Cole Brannigan rounded off a fine move to make it 3-0 after 73 minutes, sealing what was in the end a commanding victory, as the Villans cruised into the last four. 

Aston Villa 1-1 Manchester United (AET, 3-1 pens) - Semi-Finals - Monday, March 31

The semi-final - again played at Villa Park - provided Villa with their most difficult challenge of the campaign to date, as Manchester United visited B6 and took Shan's side all the way to a penalty shoot-out. 

Trai-Varn Mulley's early strike had sent the Villans into dreamland, but James Scanlon's response for the away side quickly tied affairs back up, before Villa skipper Aidan Borland missed a penalty and the opportunity to put his side back ahead. 

1-1 is how the game remained for the remainder of the 90 minutes, and the additional 30 of extra-time, meaning a penalty shoot-out would be needed to decide the tie. 

Goalkeeper Sam Proctor was Villa's hero. Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba, Keilan Quinn and Max Jenner were all successful with their kicks, as the hosts proved perfect from the spot, but the night belonged to Proctor, who saved from Jimmy Thwaites and Amir Ibragimov before watching Zac Baumann crash his effort wide to send the Young Lions into the final.